Feeler device for looms.



Gps. WHITEHEAD I I. F. MARSHALL. FEELER DEVICE FOR LOOMS. APPLICATION FILED .IUNE 27. I9I6.

Patented Mar. 12, 191s.

@EGBGE E. WITEHEAD, 0F MILLBURY,

radiante lonrust;.

nim JAMES r. MAnsHaLL, or 'wnrrrnsvrmn MSSHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO WI-11211111( MACHIINE WORKS, OF WHITINSVILELE. MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS. y

'rientra nnvron ron Looms. f

Specification of Letters Patent.

application inea rune 27, 191e. serial No. 106,251.

To aZi whom t may concern;

Be it known that we, GEORGE E. WHITE- nEAD and JAMES F. MARSHALL, citizens of the United States, residing at Millbury, in the county of Worcester, State of Massachusetts, and `ihitinsville, town of Northbridge, in said county and State, have invented a certain new and `useful mprovement in Feeler Devices for Looms, of which the following is a specication, reference be ing had therein to' the accompanying draw-` ings.

Flhe invention has relation to feeler-devices such as are employed in looms for detecting when the supply'of weft orlling contained in a shuttle on the lay of a loom has become depleted to a predetermined ex- 1 swing 1n a horizontal tent.

'feeler-tip of novel and improved form and construction for feeler-motions of the general class represented by that of U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,127,086, granted Feb. 2, 1916. Thereby an improved action and-certain advantages in use are attained.

The drawings show the invention.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a plan view of portions of a`loom with a feeler-tip embodying the invention app-lied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan. view of the feeler-ti'p, shown separately on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 'is an edge or side view thereof.

Having reference to the drawingsf- The main features of the feeler-motion shown in Fig. 1, as in the case of that shown and described in 'Letters Patent No. 1,127,086, comprise a laterally displaceable feeler-memberl furnished with a feeler-tip 2 of a slipping type, an actuator 3 that isy combined operatively with the said feelermember, a' carrier 4c for the feeler-member and actuator, arranged to swing around a pivotal mounting 4a upon a feeler-stand 5, and a controller 6 pivoted at 7 upon the said feeler-stand and adapted to be 1actuated by the actuator 3, and also arranged to. control the latch, catch, or dog 8 of the devices for calling a change in the operation of a loom.

The general construction shown in Fig. 1, taken as a whole, is of a later design than that shown in Letters Patent No. 1,127,086, and the specific construction of the parts that have been named varies `from that rEhe invention consists, essentially, in a shown and explained in such Letters Patent. 1n addition, the said general construction includes the features of the present invention', as well as various specific caturesof invention that have been made the subject of separate application "for LettersPatent. A brief description of the saidv general construction and the mode of operation thereoi2 will be given first, by'wayof making clear the particular nature of the invention itself, and its special aims. I C

As in Letters Patent No.-1,127,086, the feeler-member 1 in Figs. 1 and 2 oft the acoompanying drawings is the more immediate support and carrier for the actuator, and lateral displaceability of thev feelcrmember is provided for by arranging it to plane around a pivot 9 on the eeler-carrier 4. Also, by means of a contracting spiral spring 10 the iEeeler-member is held normally against a stop 11 upon 6a of controller 6 if the feeler-carrier 4 is swung' forward around its pivot 4 with the feder-member in Contact with such stop. As

in such -Letters Patent, also, the feelercar# rier normally is held in' a rearward position` by the action of a suitable spring (herein designated 24) and -the feelcr-tip 2projects rearwardly from the feeler member in position to enter slots 12 andk 13 in the shuttleboX front-plate 141 and the front wall of shuttle 15, respectively, as the lay 16 beats up with'the'shuttle in the shuttle-box at the 'eeler-side of the loom, so that the feeler-tip shall receive againstits acting extremity the blow or pressure ofthe shuttlecontents. y

The Inode of operation, in general, of the feeler-motion of. Fig. lresembles that in the case of the feeler-motion shown in Letters Patent No. v1,127,086.' Such mode of operation may be stated briefly as follows: As in the said Letters Patent, so long' as the weft-carrier awithin the shuttle continues to hold a lsuiicient thickness of weft or filling b to prevent the extremity of the feeler-tip 2 from slipping lengthwise of the weft-carrier under the eii'ect of the forward blow or pressure againstsuch extremity, the actuator goes forward at one side of the engaging piece Stof-the 4controller '6 as the Afeeler-meanloer and itscarrier 4 are 'driven Patenten laag-Niagara.

, rier, the extent of mer, and as a result catch, or dog,

forward, and consequently the actuator misses the said engaging piece.v rl`his follows from the fact that when theAfeeler-tip is thus held from slipping the feeler-member remains in contact with or close to the stop 11 on the feeler-carrier as the feelersmember and feeler-carrier are driven forward'by the blow or pressure against the feeler-tip. When the supply of weft or filling within the shuttlebecomes so far depleted that it no longer is capable of preventing the feelertip from being deflected lengthwise of the weft-carrier by the Yforward blow applied through the weft-carrier, the resulting turning movement of the feeler-member aroun its pivotal' mounting 9 upon the eeler-carwhich is limited by the p 111 upon the said carrier, and w before the feeler-carrier goes forward, will throw the engaging en o the actuator into end-piece 6'1 of the controller, so that in the forward stroke of the feeler-carrier the actuator will engage such end-piece and actuate the controller. Thereby the controller will be turned around its pivot 7, from its normal position defined by a stop 17 upon the feeler-stand, against (which the controller is held by the action of a spring 18. Substantially as in the Letters Patent aforesaid, as the controller is thus'turned, its extension 6" will act against the cam-sh S of latch, catch, or dog 8 and turn the latter upon its pivot 8b carried by the arm 19 mounted on the usual transversely-extending rocksliaft below breast-beam By this turning movement of the latch, catch, or dog its shoulder 8 will be placed in the ath of movement of a convenient striker 22, usually carried by the loom weft-hamof the engagement o the forwardly-moving striker with the latch, 19 will be moved forward, determined change in the operation of the loom will be called through devices in operative connection with the arm 19 or the said breast-beam roclrshaft. As the actuator disengages from the engaging piece 6a o the controller, the spring '10' will turn the feelermember 1 reversely upon its pivot 9 until it brings up against stop return the controller to its normal position against stop 17. As the return movement o the controller causes extension the cam-shaped portion 81L of or dog 8, the overbalancing front arm 0 thev latter will cause it to swing clear of the striker 22. As the lay recedes, the feelercarrier 4 through the action of the contracting spiral spring 24, which is engaged a short arm 4b of the feeler-carrier, will be swung rearward against a feeler-stand, which defines the normal waiting positionof the feeler-carrier.

' feeling-ends,

h vfeeler-tips embodying the present 1c line with the engaging face 2", retreating forwardly from said barrel should be stop 23 upon the innata? The particular features in which theinf have not haven vmene vention itself consists tioned thus far. Letters Patent No. 1,127,086 show tip having a single point or wedge-shape feeling` end. Feeler-tips having broadens in most cases toothed, serrated, or otherwise finished 0H for insuring better holding engagement with the exterior vof the mass of we t `or filling b centaine shuttle, havel been employed4 extensive practice. -ln the present instance, the feeler tip 2 has its feeling or contacting end with blunt teeth.' rllhe character and shape of the ,toothing, roughing, or other engagin or frictional facing may varyin the case o vention. ln conformity with the invention, the feeling or contacting end of a feeler-tip of the slipping class has a prominent blunt or rounded nose 2.a and an inclined or sloping nose to the other side of the feeler-tip. onsequently, if a bared orA uncovered bobbinpresented against the said feeling or contacting end, the surface of said bare or uncovered barrel would .make contact first with thenose 2a. One obiect in giving this general form to the feeling or contacting end of the feeler-tip is to adapt the feeleredevices for the use of wound weft or fillingpresenting to the feeler-tip an inclined 4portion of an interior which tapers toward the base or head of the weft-carrier, as in the case of the wound mass of weft or filling shown in F' feelertips of the kinds at present in use have a tendency to slip along the incline so as to cause a feeler-motion to call a change pre maturely whenA such a reversely-tapere mass as that shown in Fig. 1 is presented against one'tliereof. rllie retreating face 2*' of a feeler-tip embodying the present invention' is adapted equally aswell for use with a filling-mass having a reversely-tapered eX- terior ,as i the case of one so wound as to present a parallel-sided portion of its length to the feeler-tip. due tothe fact that the said retreating i tially parallels the portion of the surface of the illing-mass which is carried against the same by the advance of the lay, providing thereby for a comparativelyextended flat contact of the feeler-tip face with the'llingmass, so that all the teeth thereof take hold, without the liability of slipping heretofore er;` erienced. As the weft or filling passes o from the weft-carrier so that a progressively denuding portion of the latter is presented to the feeler-tip, the rounded nose of the feeler-tip receives the blow or pressure at successive beat-ups until it slips wise of the weft-carrier. As this slipping takes place the freeler-member turns on i 4pivotal mounting so as to placethe actuator formed length- Y ping movement of the feeler-ti in line with the engaging portion 6*JL of the controller., Such slipping also presents the inclined face of'the feeler-tip 1n position to receive the pressure of the weft-carrier,

which thus acts against the entire length of such face in driving the .feeler-member, feeler-carrier and controller forward so as to call the actuator into action upon the controller. In the slipping movement, the nose is in advance of the face portion.

What is claimed as the invention is,-

l. Weft or illing-feeler device of slipping class, having a feeler-member provided with a slipping feeler-tipl constructed with prominent nose and retreating face the latter extending obliquely substantially across the end of the tip, said nose leading in the slipand feelermember, and said retreating ace adapted for contact with the surface of a reverselycopies of this patent may be obtained for tapered filling-mass to prevent premature' slipping. 4

2. Weft or lling-feeler device of the slipping class, having a feeler-member provided with a slipping feeler-tip constructed with a prominent smooth nose and a retreating In testimony whereof weax our signatures, in presence of two-w1tnesses.

GEORGE E. WHITEHEAD. JAMES F. MARSHALL. Witnesses:

CRAs. F.' RANDALL, ELLEN 0. SPRING,

five cents each, by addressing the Gommesioneil @d mmm Washington, D. G. 

